A New Pathway for the Preparation of Pyrano[2,3‑c]pyrazoles and molecular Docking as Inhibitors of p38 MAP Kinase

We report a new pathway to synthesize pyrano­[2,3-c]­pyrazoles and their binding mode to p38 MAP kinase. Pyrano­[2,3-c]­pyrazole derivatives have been prepared through a four-component reaction of benzyl alcohols, ethyl acetoacetate, phenylhydrazine, and malononitrile in the presence of sulfonated amorphous carbon and eosin Y as catalysts. All products were characterized by melting point, 1H and 13C NMR, and HRMS (ESI). The products were screened in silico for their binding activities to both the ATP-binding pocket and the lipid-binding pocket of p38 MAP kinase, using a structure-based flexible docking provided by the engine ADFR. The results showed that eight synthesized compounds had a higher affinity to the lipid pocket than to the other target site, which implied potential applications as allosteric inhibitors. Finally, the most biologically active compound, 5, had a binding affinity comparable to those of other proven lipid pocket inhibitors, with affinity to the target pocket reaching −10.9932 kcal/mol, and also had the best binding affinity to the ATP-binding pockets in all of our products. Thus, our research provides a novel pathway for synthesizing pyrano­[2,3-c]­pyrazoles and bioinformatic evidence for their biological capability to block p38 MAP kinase pockets, which could be useful for developing cancer or immune drugs.